Compare sociologist Emile Durkheim's typology of mechanical and organic solidarity with sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies' Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft societies

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Sociologist Emile Durkheim asserted that preindustrial societies are held together by strong traditions and by the members' shared moral beliefs and values. As societies became industrialized and developed more specialized economic activities, social solidarity came to be rooted in the members' shared dependence on one another. To explain social change, Durkheim categorized societies as having either mechanical or organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity refers to the social cohesion of preindustrial societies, in which there is minimal division of labor and people feel united by shared values and common social bonds. By contrast, organic solidarity refers to the social cohesion found in industrial societies, in which people perform very specialized tasks and feel united by their mutual dependence.

Sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies used the terms Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft to characterize the degree of social solidarity and social control found in societies. The Gemeinschaft is a traditional society in which social relationships are based on personal bonds of friendship and kinship and on intergenerational stability. By contrast, Gesellschaft is a large, urban society in which social bonds are based on impersonal and specialized relationships, with little long-term commitment to the group or consensus on values.